Who was St Valentine?

St Valentine was a bishop in Rome who was imprisoned for performing marriages for Christian soldiers against the decree of the Roman Emperor, Claudius II.

While in jail, Valentine healed the blind daughter of his jailor and they became friends. He was eventually beheaded in Rome on February 14, 269 AD, signing a farewell note to the young girl with ‘From Your Valentine’.

His feast day became a popular celebration among couples in the 18th century, who expressed their devotion with greeting cards which were known as ‘Valentines’. St Valentine is the patron saint of engaged couples, happy marriages, epileptics, travellers and bee keepers.

Image: Stained glass window in the Basilica of St Valentine, Terni depicts St Valentine presenting a rose to a quarrelling couple as he coaches them on how to hold it (and each other) gently.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Marilyn is a writer and editor and you will find her work on CathFamily, in FRANKLY magazine and the The Catholic Weekly newspaper, and on her personal blog. She is also a contributor to the Catholic radio program The Journey. She and her husband Peter live with their five children in Sydney.
I’m a wife to Peter and mother to five children. We live in suburban Sydney.

Get Social

Recent Posts

Donate

CathFamily is an initiative of the Parish & Marriage Resource Centre (PMRC) Australia.. The PMRC Relationship Education Foundation is a registered charity that supports marriage and relationship education activities. All donations in Australia over $2 are tax deductable. All of the administrative work of the Foundation is provided by volunteers and other support infrastructure is ‘gifted’ by other organisations.DONATE NOW!